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Yoongi had been looking for a gift for his mother's birthday when he saw it. For some reason, the first person that came to his mind was Taehyung. He didn't really know why, but he just thought of him and how that big ring would look good on Taehyung's finger. He had been thinking of getting something to cheer up his dongsaeng, but wasn't sure what to get him or whether to actually get him something. His birthday was still pretty far away and he couldn't find an excuse. Maybe he didn't need one. Couldn't he just get something for one of the people he cared about the most?
He waited until they were all chilling in their common area, the only one missing was Taehyung who was out to meet up with one of his hyungs.
“Do you guys think this is something Taehyung would like?” he asked, showing his phone mostly to Jimin and Hoseok, who were sitting next to him.
Jimin took a look at it and smiled. “Yes, why?”
“I don't know, I'm just bad at this kinda stuff...” he shrugged it off, pocketing his phone again. He could feel Hoseok staring holes at his head, but didn't turn to look at him.
“You're already thinking about his birthday gift?” he asked. If Yoongi was correct, he could sense some jealousy in his tone.
“Um... yeah, I guess...” he mumbled, standing up from the couch. “I'll go get some work done.” Technically, it wasn't a lie. He was going to work. Eventually.
“Alright.” he heard Hoseok reply, before he left the room and their dorms to get to the company building. Once inside his studio, he bought the ring, choosing the fastest shipping method and not caring about prices.
It took only a few days for the ring to arrive, which annoyed him because he didn't like to wait. But when it did arrive, he started to panic. How was he supposed to give it to Taehyung? Definitely not in front of the other guys because someone – Hoseok – would get jealous and the rest would never let him live it down.
Maybe he could drop it on his bedside table with a little note.
But.
He needed to talk to Taehyung.
He had been worrying over him. He knew the kid was a fighter and stronger than anyone could even imagine, but he still worried. And he needed to tell him that. Even if it meant completely exposing himself.
He just had to wait for the right moment.
The right moment came after exactly ten days. Ten excruciatingly long days. But ten days that he used to prepare a little speech.
It was a Tuesday morning, luckily free of schedules. Seokjin, Hoseok and Jimin had gone out to do some groceries shopping, Namjoon had locked himself up in his studio working on a song and asked them to not disturb him, while Jeongguk was either sleeping, playing or working on something in his own room and not even a earthquake could get him outside of it.
He went up to Taehyung's room, hoping he would be already up.
“Taehyung-ah?” he called, knocking on the door.
“Yes, hyung?” came the muffled reply.
Yoongi opened the door and poked his head inside, finding Taehyung sitting on his bed and looking at his phone. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah, sure, what's up?” Taehyung threw his phone behind himself, taking his long legs on top of the still unmade bed and crossing them. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked up at his hyung with a huge grin.
“I... wanted to talk to you...” he started, scratching the back of his neck, not able to look Taehyung in the eyes.
“Something's wrong?” Taehyung's grin fell and he stood up, stepping closer to Yoongi, his big eyes curiously examining him.
“No, I just...” Yoongi wanted to hit himself on the head. What happened to the speech he had prepared? Why couldn't he remember any of it? Why was talking in front of thousand of people easier than talk to one of your best friends?
“You're sure you're okay?” asked Taehyung, touching Yoongi's cheeks and forehead with his palm. “You look pale but don't seem warm?”
“I've got something for you!” he finally managed to get out, taking the little box out of his pocket and shoving it in Taehyung's hands.
“Hyung, what...? It's not my birthday, yet!” exclaimed confused Taehyung, still taking the gift and looking at it with interest.
“Hyung can't get you something because he wants to?” he said, his voice cracking a little, giving away his anxiety.
“You just never buy presents for us, hyung...” pointed out Taehyung, grinning cockily.
“If you don't want it, I can take it back, you know...”
“Nope.”
As he opened the box, his grin disappeared, his lips parting and forming a perfect “o”. He didn't say anything, he just stared at it, as if he couldn't understand how it got in his hands. He licked his lips, glancing up at him. “What...?”
Yoongi took a deep breath. He could do it.
“I know you've been going through a lot lately. And it obviously doesn't help that we're under so much pressure and attention right now. I know you're so fucking strong and can do it, Tae, but if you ever feel like you can't... just look at this ring and remember my words. You will get through it. You will make it. No matter how hard it gets, you are strong enough. You are stronger than you think. And we all love you.”
He let it all out, the speech he had prepared forgotten and replaced by his honesty and instinct. He looked up into Taehyung's eyes, finding them shining with unshed tears.
“Hyung.” he whispered.
“I know it's cheesy, but...”
“I love it!” Taehyung smiled so widely, his big eyes disappeared and a couple of tears rolled down his cheeks. He took the ring out and wore it, admiring it on his finger. Yoongi hadn't seen him smile that genuine and bright smile in a while. A sudden spark of happiness and pride for being the one that put it there made him grin.
“You do?” he still had to make sure.
“Of course!” exclaimed Taehyung, sniffling hard and wiping away the tears with his hoodie sleeves. “I really love the color! And, somehow it does remind me of you.”
“Really? Why?”
“I don't know... I just associate you with the color blue.” admitted Taehyung with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
“Because of my hair?” chuckled Yoongi, pointing to the light blue already fading.
Taehyung giggled, ruffling his hyung's hair. “I don't think so... I just like to associate people with very specific colors.”
“Ha, right. Purple boy.” he snorted, trying to hide the fondness in his eyes by looking down at his feet.
They stood there for a few moments, their breathing the only sound in the room.
“Hyung.” whispered Taehyung, as if unsure whether to break the silence.
“Yes?” Yoongi looked back up at his big, shinging eyes.
“Thank you.” he sighed happily. “Thank you for the ring. Thank you for being so nice to me lately. And thank you for being such a good hyung to me.” he grinned widely again, bowing his head in gratitude before turning on his heels and attempting to leave his own room.
But Yoongi stopped him, grabbing his wrist. “Wait.” he felt his cheeks heat up with a blush, but he didn't care. “Taehyung-ah. Come here.” he sighed, rolling his eyes and tugging at Taehyung's arm until they got even closer. He hugged him tightly to his chest breathing in the sweet scent of his dongsaeng. “Hyung loves you. Never forget it.”
A few weeks passed until they finally had another break. A whole day free of schedules, left to their own devices. Which meant they all slept until past midday, only waking up when they were hungry and making a little bit of a mess in the kitchen to prepare lunch because it had been forever since they all cooked together.
Like always, they let an intense play of rock-paper-scissors decide who was supposed to do the dishes. The final losers were Jimin and Seokjin, but the eldest wasn't having any of it.
“I already did most of the cooking, why do I also have to do the dishes?” he complained loudly.
“Because you lost.” pointed out Jeongguk, laying back in his chair and letting out a loud burp of satisfaction.
“I'm old and tired! Can't any of you show me some love and appreciation??” he whined, making the others laugh. They all knew he was messing around with them. Maybe not about the tired part. But he knew they all appreciated him. A lot.
“Hyung, I think Yoongi hyung looks and sounds older than you, to be honest.” said Hoseok, scratching his full stomach.
“Should I take that as an offense?” asked Yoongi, glancing at Hoseok who was sitting beside him.
“Of course not.” Hoseok grinned cheekily at him, pinching his cheek with his fingers as he leaned in closer to him. “Old man.”
“Ya!”
“Alright, alright. I'll do the dishes in hyung's place.” piped up Namjoon, standing up and collecting some of the empty plates.
“Can someone other than Namjoon replace me?” asked Seokjin, taking the plates out of his hands. “Someone that won't break half the dishes?”
“Hyung!” whined Namjoon, pouting. “I haven't broken anything in, like, three days!”
“Exactly.”
Namjoon just laughed at that, shaking his head.
“Fiiiiiine, I'll do it.” sighed Hoseok, standing up.
“Wait, why can't Taehyungie do it?” wondered Jimin, looking at Taehyung. “He didn't cook either.”
“Because...” replied Taehyung, standing up dramatically and making the chair scratch the floor. “I have something to do.”
“What? Play video games?” giggled Jeongguk.
“Nope.” Taehyung pointed a threatening finger at him, fixing him with a short glare before lowering his hand and turning to look at Yoongi. “If anyone wants to talk to me... I'll be in our room. Busy. Very busy.” He winked at Yoongi, making sure no one else would notice it, before leaving the kitchen. His humming could be heard throughout the hallways, until he reached his room and got muffled behind its door.
“Is it just me, or he's acting a little bit weirder than usual?” asked Seokjin, his eyes looking in the direction Taehyung had just left, as if he was trying to see through the walls and judge him with his very “I'm done with you” look.
“Definitely not just you, hyung.” commented Hoseok, collecting the dishes, immediately followed by Jimin.
“Since hyung didn't invite me to play, I'll help out cleaning too.”
“Awwww, our precious maknae.” cooed Hoseok and Jimin, smiling at the very appreciated help they were getting.
“We'll go watch a movie, then.” announced Seokjin, throwing his arm over Namjoon's shoulders and dragging him towards the living room.
“So that's why he didn't want to do the dishes!” whined Jimin.
Yoongi snorted and finally stood up, being the only one still at the table. “Whatever. I'll just go nap.” he said, stretching his arms over his head.
“Okay.” replied Hoseok, glancing back at him while his hands kept washing the dishes. He smirked and sent him a wink, the two younger boys too busy to notice the interaction.
Yoongi smirked back, playfully slapping his butt as he walked past him and towards the bedrooms.
He stopped by the bathroom, quickly relieving himself and then making a beeline for his and Seokjin's room, ready to take a long and relaxing nap, hopeful Hoseok would join him and cuddle once he was done in the kitchen. He was opening the door when strong fingers laced around his wrist, making him jump in surprise.
“Hyung! What took you so long?” complained Taehyung. “I thought my hint of coming to look for me was pretty clear!”
“What hint?”
“Nevermind.” sighed Taehyung, looking around suspiciously before pushing his hyung inside the room and closing the door behind them. He then dragged him towards the closet, opening the door to it and locking themselves inside. The room was completely dark and they had to fumble a little to find the light and turn it on.
“Why the hell are we in my closet?” questioned Yoongi, looking confused at Taehyung.
“I thought it would be... more intimate....” Taehyung shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't meeting his eyes and his cheeks were pinker than usual.
Yoongi felt his stomach drop and his heart break as he joined the dots. He had given the kid a ring, telling him all those things. What if he had been obvious at Taehyung's feelings towards him and leading him on with his actions. Fuck. He was really bad at feelings, after all. “Tae... I'm sorry if I did something that made you think I... um... like you that way... but...”
Taehyung's eyes got incredibly wide, his mouth opening to let out a soft gasp before he started to giggle. “Hyung! Not that kind of intimate! I'm not gonna make out with you!”
Yoongi let out a long sigh of relief. He loved the kid. He didn't want to break his heart. He did know how much unrequited love sucked. “Ha.”
“I mean, you're very attractive and I think your voice sounds pretty sexy, but... you know... you're still my hyung...” he blurted out, his whole face getting pinker with every word.
Yoongi rolled his eyes, chuckling softly. “Then why are we in the closet?”
“I don't know. I acted out of impulse, sorry.”
Yoongi laughed, shaking his head. “Okay, but what are we doing here?”
“Oh! Right! I have something for you!” he exclaimed excitedly, taking out a small box from behind his back and giving it to Yoongi.
“Tae... you didn't have to...” he sighed, already imagining what could be inside the box.
“I know I didn't have to. But I wanted to.” he replied, a huge smile spreading his lips and making his eyes almost disappear with it. “Open it.”
Yoongi did. The ring looked like the one Taehyung was currently wearing, a big blue stone on top of it.
“I couldn't find the exact same ring, but it's still pretty similar, right?”
Yoongi could only hum in reply, still looking down at the ring.
“I don't expect you to actually wear it, but...” his long fingers started to fidget with the hem of his shirt, as if he had only then realised how cheesy the gift was. “you know... you have been such an amazing hyung to me, lately. After the Hawaii I just feel like we've gotten even closer than before. And you gave me that ring and, hyung, it just means a lot to me...” he cleared his voice a couple of times, probably to swallow the lump in his throat. “So I wanted you to have a piece of me too. To remind you that you're my favorite hyung and you're amazing. And you do give me strength. I mean, the others too, of course... and Jiminie is still my best friend. But...” he took a deep breath, finally looking into Yoongi's eyes. “Daegu boys need to stick together, right?”
Yoongi snorted, shaking his head and taking out the ring. He put it on his right ring finger, noticing how good it was to feel it there. “Of course they do.”
“You like it?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Tae.” he laughed, flicking Taehyung on the forehead. “Even if... if we're both wearing similar rings... won't people start asking questions?”
“Since when do you care about what people say?” questioned Taehyung, arching his left eyebrow.
“You know me so well.”
They both laughed, looking down bashfully at their feet, the closet growing quiet. They glanced back up, opening their mouth to speak up at the same time and then laughing about it again.
“Hyung first.”
“Just...” Yoongi let out a sigh, feeling his cheeks heat up with a blush. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
“And I hope the one on your finger does help you.”
“It does. Hyung, trust me. It does.”
They got quiet again, staring at each other, this time. They were so close and suddenly the room was too small, too hot.
Taehyung cleared his throat before whispering: “Hyung, can I kiss you?”
Yoongi was once again frozen into place, his mouth opening and closing because he didn't know what to say.
“Not on the lips...” Taehyung rolled his eyes playfully, shoving Yoongi a little and making him stumble. “I just have a lot of love to give, especially to you, and kissing is the best way I know to express it.” he shrugged, licking his lips.
“Um...”
“I mean, friends can kiss each other on the cheek, right?”
“I don't know any straight friends that kiss each other. On the cheek. In a closet.” he breathed out, his eyes snapping up to judge Taehyung a little.
“But, hyung, you're not straight~”
“That's exactly my point, Tae.”
“Oh.” Realisation seemed to hit him, but Taehyung still didn't give up. “Well, would you mind if I kissed you on the cheek?”
“Well, no...” he admitted, glancing down at Taehyung's lips. “I think it's okay.”
“Okay.” giggled Taehyung. He leaned in, his lips barely brushing against Yoongi's warm cheek. “Thank you.” he whispered, before leaning away.
Yoongi had to look away because he felt like his smile was about to split his face in half. “Thank you, Tae.”
They went back to the common area, where everyone else was. Even if a movie was playing on the big screen, no one was really paying attention to it, except for Seokjin. The others were looking at their phones or, in Namjoon's case, reading a book.
“Thought you two were supposed to watch a movie together?” he commented.
“Yes, but then someone said the movie was too boring and preferred to read a book. What a nerd.” mumbled Seokjin, muting the movie. He probably just didn't want to admit himself that the movie was indeed boring. Maybe because it would hurt his pride, since he chose it.
Namjoon looked up from his book, where he had buried his nose, completely ignoring his hyung. “You two are done having secret meetings?” he asked, instead, a playful smirk on his lips.
“Shut up.” Yoongi kicked him in the shin as he walked by him, going for the other couch where Hoseok was sitting and settling down right next to him.
Taehyung simply giggled, plopping himself down between Jimin and Jeongguk, making the other two groan in fake annoyance since they had to move to give him space. Even if, deep down, neither of them minded being that close.
“Wait, is this a new ring?” asked Hosoek, taking Yoongi's hand in his and examining the new ring.
Yoongi only hummed in reply.
“That looks a lot like the ring you got for Tae...” pointed out Jimin, who was also looking at Yoongi new jewelry.
“It does, doesn't it?” said Taehyung, grinning cheekily as he winked at Yoongi.
“Should I get jealous?” questioned Hoseok, pouting at Yoongi, his eyes actually looking sad.
“What? Why? No!” stuttered out Yoongi, his ears turning red.
“You're not, like, engaged or something, right?” wondered Seokjin, laughing at the way Yoongi blushed even more.
“No!”
“Hyung, don't say it like that.” mumbled Taehyung, making his infamous puppy eyes at his hyung, pouting out his lips adorably. “It sounds like you hate me...”
“I don't hate you!” Yoongi was completely red by that point. He hated being frustrated in front of the others. Especially when it was about this kind of things. Especially when feelings were involved. “You're a donsaeng I really care for.” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
“What about your other donsaengs, though?” pouted Jimin.
“What about your hyung???” gasped Seokjin with mock offense.
“You never get us presents like you did with Taehyungie hyung...” pointed out Jeongguk, poking Yoongi's knee with his bare foot.
“Of course I get you presents!” scoffed Yoongi, shifting on the couch until he was out of reach of Jeongguk's feet and almost in Hoseok's lap.
“Ya, only for our birthdays!”
“And, hyung, you literally just dropped mine on my bed and then left!” laughed Namjoon.
“I'm sorry I'm so bad at being nice and taking care of you and, you know, just really fucking bad at showing my feelings!” he snapped, he felt his whole face on fire. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds and he couldn't bring himself to look up from his own feet at his friends. Until Hoseok spoke up, making him turn to face him.
“Hyung, it's okay.” he said, smiling softly. “You might be bad at showing your feelings, but you're good at taking care of us.”
“But...”
“No.” Hoseok framed Yoongi's face with his hands, his thumbs softly caressing his cheekbones. “I told you already. So many times. But I will keep repeating it until you believe me.”
Yoongi knew how stubborn Hoseok was and if he said something, he would definitely do it.
“You might look cold on the outside, but you are not. You are so good. To all of us. Okay?”
Yoongi nodded his head a little, as much as Hoseok's hands allowed him to. He could almost see himself reflected into Hoseok's eyes, so dark, yet so sincere and sweet. “Okay.” he whispered, licking his dry lips.
“Please, don't make out in front of us.” whined Jeongguk.
Hoseok let his face go, his cheeks pinker with a blush. Yoongi just grinned, looking down bashfully and scratching the back of neck.
“Or at least wait until we get popcorn...” added Taehyung with a smirk.
Both Hosoek and Yoongi glared at him, making him giggle and hide behind Jeongguk.
“Ya, don't mention things we can't eat...” groaned Jimin, standing up and stretching his limbs.
“I hate diets!” complained Taehyung, taking advance of the now empty place left by Jimin and laying down, using Jeongguk's thighs as pillow and stretching out his long legs. “Wanna eat my love instead?” he grinned as he made finger-hearts to Jimin.
Jimin just glared at him before smirking back. Taehyung didn't get much of a warning before he was being attacked by Jimin's fingers tickling his sides. And then Jeongguk joined in, quickly followed by all the others.
“Tickle fight!!!” announced Seokjin.
Taehyung was laughing like crazy, he could barely breathe, but still tried to defend himself by kicking his feet. “Wait! Nooooo!! Why all against me??” he managed to wheeze out between his laughter.
“Because I say so.” replied Jimin, giggling but not relenting his attack.
Taehyung didn't really mind, though. He liked feeling loved by the other members. Even if it meant getting tickled until he could barely breathe, because everyone else was also laughing and looking happy. As if they weren't one of the most famous and hottest boy bands of the moment, with a great amount of pressure on their shoulders. But as if they were just kids, enjoying their time with each other. As if they were a big, happy family.